Embroidery Love

I was talking to someone special the other day and we both decided we would take up holiday hobbies! This winter vacation from classes, I want to learn how to embroider!

I've been inspired by all of the amazing examples of hand-stitching and embroidery I've seen on Etsy. There are so many amazing pieces I would love to buy and hang on my wall. I have pages of them in my favorites that I periodically admire.

Amazing Orion Hand Embroidery by MiniatureRhino, a fellow New Yorker!

Looks so soft! Lovely Snowy Cloud Embroidery by PilliPillihandmade

I purchased this adorable how to kit on Sublime Stitching, a really amazing embroidery website that sells how-to kits that teach how to embroider! $20 is a pretty good deal considering all of the stuff you get within the kit, which includes a wooden embroidery hoop!

Look at all of that stuff!

Wish me luck in my practice and learning! What hobbies and new skills are you guys learning this holiday season? :)

Lots of love, friends! 

Stocking Stuffer Sale

The holidays are coming before you know it, so I'm running a sale right now in preparation for Christmas!

`•.¸¸.•´´¯`•• .¸¸.•´¯`•.•●•۰• ••.•´¯`•.•• ••.•´¯`•

Stocking Stuffer Christmas Sale

Pick Three Items ~ Get The Cheapest Item FREE

`•.¸¸.•´´¯`•• .¸¸.•´¯`•.•●•۰• ••.•´¯`•.•• ••.•´¯`•


How this works is that I refund the amount of the cheapest item to your paypal account. Or, if you have two items and you want a third, you can convo me to discuss which third item you want. Either way works.


Convo me for details! Enjoy friends. :)

Express Edit for Etsy Users

I'm blogging to let all of my readers know about a fantastic new tool for Etsy shop owners on Craftopolis.com

I discussed their website in a previous entry when I talked about analytics. This time, I'm mentioning the because of their new feature - Express Editing.

This is a fantastic tool for anyone who needs to change prices of a large group of items. For example, if you are doing a sale on one section of your shop, and you want to knock a dollar off the price of all of the items in that section, it can be done in seconds, and without making your items appeared unlisted as you edit them. Fantastic, right?

Enjoy, friends. :) 

Business

I've been impossibly busy this week. For now, I will say that I had a blast at the NYCC/NYAF! I met a lot of great artist, got an autograph from writer and creator of Babylon Five, saw Bruce Campbell in person, and did a lot of shopping. I took photos with lots of awesome cosplayers, as well. :) Lots of talent, lots of fun! I bought hairclips, paper goods, and even an amigurumi cupcake! Wuahhhhh! <3

Chilling with the Star Wars crew. :) 

On a more craft-related topic, I'm planning on listing a few things this weekend. Look forward to more cute happy apple tree crafts and relisting of a few popular items. I would like to do more, but life gets in the way, as usual.

I am also going to be doing some fabric shopping soon. What type of animals/objects/colors would YOU like to see in future products? I'd truly appreciate your feedback, so that I know I am supplying what my faithful shoppers and readers want to see and buy!

Take care, friends! :)

Fabric Love

I just wanted to make a quick update and mention my favorite fabric shop on Etsy!

 ikoplus supplies a huge amount of super kawaii Japanese fabric. The prices are great, the shipping is fast, and the customer service is the best! If you need any cute Japanese fabric, you should definitely shop there!

I'm still ill so I'm taking it easy tonight with the season premiere of Dexter, Vicks Vabor Rub, and some NyQuill, but when my strength is up I will add some new items made with the fabulous fabric I purchased. Here is one of them. :) I just love the color.

Take care, friends! ♥

eReader Pouches

I've decided on a new pattern to design this weekend, finally! I've seen quite a few super kawaii iPad holders and Macbook sleeves, but I've hardly seen any for eReaders, which is shocking considering how popular eReaders have become this year. I need to get in on the eReader craze and supply some cute things before they become really wide spread on Etsy.

I'm going to look into some heavier interface or perhaps some quilting batting to make something really squishy and protective. I'll also research some measurements. I figure I will supply pouches that are made specifically for the Nook and the Kindle, which I believe are nearly the same size anyway. Are they are other really big eReader names that I should include, or are those two brands pretty much the sole names in the market?

As soon as I get some of the really cute fabric I ordered, I will start. I believe I'll be receiving my super cute umbrella fabric in due time so maybe I'll start with that. :)

In other news I'm feeling slightly icky, so I will take it easy until I gain my strength back, craft a lot and stay in. I miss working out, but something tells me that if I'm feeling so tired that climbing four stories of stairs gets me winded, I probably shouldn't try my Jillian Michaels tapes until I recover or I might keel over! ;)

Shizuka Urusai loves PINCUSHIONS

Most would assume that the most difficult items for me to make in my shops are probably the zipper pouches. A lot of people have the fear of sewing zippers. Well, for me, I think pincushions are by far the most challenging. They combine so many different types of techniques! They're very fun to make, but can be tricky. So I have a great appreciation for those who make them.

So today's blog post is an Etsy shop feature of those who make super cute pincushions with a little something extra to make them POP! Enjoy! 

I would never have thought to add crochet applique. Awesome!  By namolio in England!

Holy moley, that's making my mouth water! Too cute! By SeaPinks.

Hahah, that's so original and brilliant! Love it! By supah

Wow, that must take some skill to make! Plus, super cute bees are plus! By joycemac634

Oh, he is too precious! I want him, though I'd feel sad sticking needles into him! ;)
By PurplePlatypus

List of Featured Shops:

http://www.etsy.com/shop/namolio

http://www.etsy.com/shop/purpleplatypus

http://www.etsy.com/shop/joycemac634

http://www.etsy.com/shop/supah

http://www.etsy.com/shop/SeaPinks

Keep up the good work, guys. ;) And take care, faithful readers!

Craft Fair

I just returned from my first craft fair a few hours ago! I'm a person who loves lists, so I will break it down into one:

Pros:

• The spot rental fee went 100% to a good cause - a charity called The Dog Project. As an animal lover, it's awesome to know my money went to something good. I figured even if I didn't make any profits, at least I lent myself to a good cause.
• The day was beautiful. A little hot, but a very sunny day which just tells people to go out and venture!
• I got my business cards and magnets out there to many people. Advertisement was the main point of this fair, so I was happy!
• I sold enough to make back what I paid for the rental. 

Cons:

• This fair wasn't very much of handmade craft fair as much as a Goodwill/Vintage/Old Junk sort of fair. Those kind of fairs are fun, but when you are one of the only people selling handmade and expecting handmade prices, compared to the rest of the people who are selling cute cheap curios for a dollar, you're not going to sell very much!
• Only made two sales. :( Most people just ignored my table completely.

All in all, I'd have to say the craft fair was a bit of a flop, but it was a good learning experience. The people who did stop to browse commented on the quality of my fabrics and crafts, as well as how cute and different they were. I think that my items were well received, but this venue wasn't quite the place to sell them, because very little of my target audience was there. Most importantly, I got my name out there, enjoyed myself, and met a few very nice people! Next time I think I may want to invest more money into a more handmade oriented fair, such as one of the Renegade Fairs, next time it comes to NY. 

I also got in a little bit of shopping done while my mama manned the table. The woman stationed next to me had all old vintage fabrics that she sold me for 25 cents each, and the family on the other side of me had an adorable planter holder which is just perfect for my windowsill garden!

For the rest of the day, I think I will just do a little bit of Etsy listing. I also have an essay to write - I should probably do that! Hehe! Take care, friends! ;)

Supplies are fun!

I love craft supplies. One of my favorite things to shop for on Etsy are shipping supplies, both gift bags to put any of my crafts that have been purchased in and gift tags! There are so many cute things out there, I wish I could buy it all!

Here is an assortment of lovely supplies I've found on Etsy today, while shopping. :) 

A URL list of all shops featured is at the end of this post. 

Paper Bags

by Littleteethshop 

by paperb

by buffet

Plastic bags

By haato - I actually just bought these. :) 

by cheepackage

And lots of adorable gift tags!

By flirtdeux

by Seasonaldelights

by Seasonaldelights

by FoxesandRobbers

A really awesome $1 sale by KatesScrapNSupplies

Enjoy. ;) 

Shops Featured:

• http://www.etsy.com/shop/KatiesScrapNSupplies
• http://www.etsy.com/shop/seasonaldelights
• http://www.etsy.com/shop/foxesandrobbers
• http://www.etsy.com/shop/seasonaldelights
• http://www.etsy.com/shop/flirtdeux
• http://www.etsy.com/shop/cheepackage
• http://www.etsy.com/shop/haato
• http://www.etsy.com/shop/buffet
• http://www.etsy.com/shop/paperb
• http://www.etsy.com/shop/littleteethshop

New Listings for 9/3

Friends! It's good to be updating again. I've had such an incredibly busy week back at college, but I'm enjoying it - aside from the difficult and long commute. ;)

Good news; I managed to craft a bit this week despite being busy. Since I received my beautiful FQs of Japanese import in the mail a few days ago that I blogged about before, I was able to make some really gorgeous pouches. I tried a new sewing technique, as well as trying out a new type of interfacing, and I could not be happier with the result. I think this really took me to the next level in my crafting!

This fabric seems to be a favorite! I'm happy to say I have
pouches in this design again for you all again! :)

I cannot get enough of this fabric. It is sooo cute!

What do you think, friends?

In other news, I'm currently looking into having some label tags designed so that I can add a touch of professionalism to my items. You can find some wonderful deals on Etsy. It's much cheaper than having a business do it, and you have that wonderful handmade touch. :)

Have a good weekend, everyone!

Art Shark Designs, Inking, and Stamps

Doesn't it look gorgeous in that frame?
 It was only $7.99 at Michael's!

Hello, friends!

I may be busy, but I still always make time for some Etsy browsing and shopping, and I've recently found a fantastic artist on Etsy that I have purchased from - Art Shark Design. The artist, Megan, makes a special kind of art called "Gocco" which originated in Japan, and her art features romance in all different cities in the world! Being an NYC girl, originally, I just had to have this gorgeous Brooklyn print! 

I received it super fast and it was packaged with love. All in all, I'd recommend Art Shark Design to anyone who likes the gocco style of printing and good service! Thanks again, Megan! ;]

My favorite thing about the packaging, besides receiving my print safely, was she included a card explaining the gocco art process. That was so cool. I wish there was some kind of artistic process, such as screen printing, that I could explain to my customers. That would be really neat!

Speaking of which, when I was in Michael's, I found their stamping section and found it fantastic and cute. I'm interesting in trying a process of buying a sandy cotton/canvas blend fabric, similar to the sandy Matryoshka fabric that I adore so much, and then stamping it with kawaii-style stamps I find. It would be really neat because it would be more original, since the design would be coming from me completely, plus it would have a nice simplistic vibe with the focus being on the stamped design. I worry that it would be a bit of a deviation from the Japanese and general asian aesthetic, but if the stamp designs fit into that vibe, then all will be good. :)

My main problem was in Michael's, the stamps seemed to be not at all suited for fabrics. They were mostly aimed for papercrafts. A few were dye-based, but didn't seem entirely geared towards fabric. I want to make sure that any ink designs stay nice and bold and don't stain on anyone's purse or anything bad like that. Any readers out there know of a good ink brand to try?

As usual, goodnight and thank you for reading, friends! I couldn't do it without you!

Supplies

I love buying supplies. Since I've signed up for the craft fair, I have a good excuse to buy some! 

I can't get over the colors in this!
It's kawaii style but still has rich dark colors.

My favorite supply shopping is fabric shopping, of course. ;) One of the fortunate parts of being a primarily fat quarter project type of crafter is that I can order bundles of Japanese import FQs for a good deal. I ordered some gorgeous Japanese cotton fabric last night. 

I bought two FQs from Mwenda's Etsy. I feel obligated to show everyone because it's one of the few Etsy shops located in the far east that charges really reasonable shipping prices to the US, especially for multiple orders. Thank you, Mwendas! ♥

Familiar, yes? That's because I keep ordering this fabric.
I've ordered this in blue, orange, and purple! Love it!

Nothing much else is new. My Eggling has become to sprout its first little Daisy sproutlings. I am shocked how strong and hearty they are. I wasn't really expecting my Eggling to flourish much, because I was growing it in my office, where it only got fluorescent lighting rather than the real kind, like my windowsill plants do. Hooray!

Do check out my new updated shop policies page. Nothing really has changed -  I just added some additional information. After critiquing others' policies pages in the Etsy forums, I've realized my own policy page could use some clarifications. :)

                                                                                 Goodnight, friends! ♥

Craft Fairs & Pincushions

llo friends! Check out some of my new stock that I put on Etsy:

Pencil cases = BACK TO SCHOOL~~~

Upcycled goodness!

All that and more at my Etsy shop. :) 

In other news, I'm getting over my nervousness and signing up for a craft fair this weekend. It is set for September 15th - it is a farmer's market/artisan fair, that features local crafters, artists, and farmers! I'm really excited. I have a month to prepare my stock.

What do you think I should make the most of? Pouches, pincushions, or tissue holders? I want to offer a spread of items and prices, but I should probably focus on one major item.

Thank you for your feedback, friends. Have a great weekend!

On a roll!

I did a great deal today. I...

☆ Drove over 150 miles

★ Made a pencil case made of a soft Japanese import cotton gauze

☆ Upcycled a cute-but-crooked pouch made of lovely Japanese import fabric into a cute not crooked pincushion!

★ Did day four of Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred. 

☆ Did the laundry. Oh yeah! 

Woo-hoo! I'll have some pictures of the cute new products tomorrow when there is good light for photography. I really must invest in a light box!